Friday is for fish (and speedy cooking): sweet and sour prawns in under 30 minutes

Friday is for fish (and speedy cooking): sweet and sour prawns in under 20 minutes

Sweet and sour prawns in under 20 minutes

Whenever my friends and I talk about food, nothing divides the group more than when we discuss what goes into a ‘sweet and sour’. I’m firmly in the anti-pineapple camp but that’s because my husband makes a wicked pineapple dipping sauce which we have with our sweet and sour, not in it!

Tonight, we decided to have sweet and sour prawns with rice, and as we’re going away this weekend, this dish is a great way of using up any odd bits of vegetable still left in the fridge.

My only gripe is that it’s actually very difficult to get decent prawns here without paying a ridiculously exorbitant amount of money. What the supermarkets call prawns are really small shrimp. I can’t really say that the prawns we bought today were particularly sweet either. Good thing I was cooking them with a sweet and sour sauce then. Unfortunately buying prawns in the UK is always a bit hit and miss… can’t complain, mustn’t grumble though…

Best thing about making this dish? The fact that it’s another one of my 30 minute kitchen-to-table recipes… in fact if you work fast, you can actually make this in about 20 minutes tops!

I’ll be back on Sunday with what I hope will be a lovely sweet treat so till then, have a brilliant weekend!

So small they really shouldn't be called prawns at all

Sweet & sour prawns (feeds 2-3)

200 grams fresh prawns, peeled, de-veined and sliced into it halfway along its length

1 heaped tablespoon cornflour (mixed with 3 tablespoons cold water in a small bowl)

1 tablespoon vegetable oil

1 spring onion, sliced thinly

Pineapple garnish

In a mortar and pestle, pound ½ cup of fresh pineapple chunks with a pinch of salt, a small hot chilli, 2 teaspoons of fish sauce, 2 teaspoons of sugar and 1 teaspoon of chinese rice vinegar (or whatever vinegar you have).

Looks delicious! I can’t believe the great timing, my boyfriend and I were craving a sweet and sour prawn yesterday but we were worried it would take too long to make. We’ll definitely have to try your recipe!